Container emptying apparatus



Nov. 18, 1952' R. H. w. THORN 2,618,407

' CONTAINER EMPTYING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 13, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 MIA/70R.

RICMRDHW ATYURN Nov. 18, 1952 R. H. w. THORN 2,618,407

CONTAINER EMPTYING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 13. 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 fiVVi/VZDA K ,e/cmmmmm 8/ Max/M 727 Patented Nov. 18; 1 952 CONTAINER EMPTYIN G APPARATUS Richard Henry William Thorn, North Wembley, England, assignor to H. J. Heinz Company, Bittsb'urgh, Pa.. a company of Pennsylvania Application February 13, 1948, Serial No. 8,206 In Great Britain February 19, 19.47

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to container emptying apparatus of the kind in which the contents of the container are withdrawn through a conduit passing down through the top of the container and connected to a source of suction. An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which will cut a hole in the top, of a sealed container for the introduction of the suction conduit without the necessity of the containerbeing moved between these operations.

According to this invention a container emptying apparatus of the kind referred to above is characterised in that there are provided means for mechanically operating the cutting device and means for effecting relative axial movement between the said suction conduit and container in such timed relationship that an aperture is formed in the top of the container prior to the introduction of said conduit.

Preferably said cutting device comprises an annular cutting, blade through which said conduit may be passed; Driving means may be provided for reciprocating said cutting device and suction conduit out of phase so that movement of the cutting devicetowards thecontainer forms an aperture for the subsequent introduction of the conduit and the cutting device is thereafter removed from the aperture. The invention is particularly applicable to emptying apparatus in which a spraying device is associated with the suction conduit so that the walls of, the container are washed clear of the contents dur-' ing the movement of the suction conduit into the containe conduit may be provided with a jacket having spray orifices adjacent the opening of the conduit'fand means for supplying washing liquid to Saidjacket.

The means for introducing the suction conduit intothe; container are driven at such a rate in relation to the rate of withdrawal of the containers contents that the spray orifices remain below'the'free surface levelof the material until thecontainer is nearly empty, thereby diluting the'material and' enabling itto be readily withdrawn,- whereafter the walls of the container are washed clean of any clinging material by the spray issuing; from the orifices.

Valve means may be associated with said suction conduit which is so operated that the valve opens when the end of'thesuction conduityfirst.

provide a valve seat, and a spindle. securedto In such an arrangement thesuction the valve and passing up through the conduit and attached at. its upper end to the piston of a compressed air motor mounted atthe top of said conduit. In such an arrangement laterally extending pipes communicate with the conduit and jacket space respectively at the ends th-ereot remote from the container, which pipes are con-- nected with an evacuated storage reservoir and with a supply of washing liquid.

The following. is a description of one form of container emptying apparatus according to the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the general arrangement of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a detailed front elevation of. the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking from the left of the Figure 3, and having certain parts. cutaway for olearness, and. I

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the lower part of the apparatus looking from the right of Figure 3, also having certain parts out away.v

Referring to Figure 1, two containers are anranged to be operated upon simultaneously and for this purpose they are fed, two at a time,.be.- neath two piercing and'empt'ying mechanisms- The piercing apparatus comprises. an annular cutting blade ID to which is impartedan up and down movement. The cutting blade loosely. en-

circles a suction tube It spaced from whichis an outer jacket wall !2. The lower end of the jacketed suctiontube is formed with a valveseat l3. with which is associated a mushroom valve.

14 carried at the end of an operating rod lfi extending up through a gland H at the top of'the suction conduit and thence through another gland [8 into the cylinder IQ of a compressed air motorwhere it is connected to a piston. A. branch pipe 20 leads from the upper endof the.

suction conduit to a pulp receiving tank which is subjected to vacuum. A branch pipe 2i'leads from the upper end of the outer'jacket wall l2f lows. Th annular cutting blade is first lowered to the top of the container and is soformed asto cut out a disc .which hinges downwardly as shown at 25. The jacketed suction conduit is then lowered through the hole whereupon the mushroom valve I4 is opened, by means of the compressed air motor, and the water valve is opened by cam mechanism hereinafter described. The level of the contents in the container drops until the container is nearly empty when the material uncovers the spray jets which then direct the water onto the walls of the container so to remove any of the material still clinging. The motion of the suction tube is reversed when its lower end reaches the bottom of the container and the spray water is cut off.

The various controls for the above movements and valves are now described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. The containers to be emptied are continuously traversed, by a conveyor, in the direction of the arrow shown towards the bottom of Figure 2, along guide rails 26 which extend across the lower end of the apparatus. At an appropriate time two cans are simultaneously pushed sideways off the conveyor by a pusher 21, as shown in Figure 4, so that they rest on supports 28 beneath the piercing and emptying apparatus. The annular cutting blades I are attached to a platform 29 (see Figure 2) which is vertically slidable on guide rods 30. The platform is provided with upwardly extending brackets 3|, in which is mounted a pin 5 extending through the forked end 9 of an arm 8. The other end of the lever is pivoted at I to the main frame and carries a roller 3 which engages an internal track of a cam 33. The cam is fixed to a shaft 34 which is driven through clutch mechanism 35 from a main driving shaft 36 by a chain drive 31.

The jacket l2 surrounding the suction conduit passes through guide bearings 33 on the aforesaid platform 29, and also through other guide bearings 39 mounted on the upper part 40 of the main framework. The two jacketed pipes are also secured together towards their upper ends by a framework 4| and their weight together with the weight of the compressed air motor I9 are counterbalanced by weights 8% attached to chains 42 which pass over sprocket wheels 43 and are attached at 44 to said frame 4|. The jacketed suction conduits are also secured together intermediate of their ends by a further frame 45, which is provided on each side thereof with a trunnion pin 46 (see Figure 3). These trunnion pins are each engaged by the slotted end 41 of one arm 48 of a bell-crank lever, the other arm 49 of which is provided with a roller 53 which engages an internal cam track on a cam member 5| secured to the shaft 34. An air valve 9| controlling the supply of air to the compressed air motor 19 is provided with a spindle 52 which is engaged by the end of a lever-arm 53. The lever-arm 53 is pivoted at 54 to a part of the frame, and carries a roller 55 engaging yet another cam 56 fixed to the shaft 34. Also fixed to the shaft 34 is a water controlling cam 51 which as will be seen from Figure 4, engages a roller 58 on an arm 59 pivoted to the frame at 50 and secured at 61 to a rod 62 which operates the water valve 33, against the action of a spring 64 secured to the other end of the rod.

Also secured to the shaft 34 is a sprocket wheel 65 encircled by a chain 66 (see Figure 4) having another sprocket wheel 31 on a countershaft 58. Fixed to the countershaft is a cam 59 having an internal track H1 which is engagedby a roller ll carried by a pivoted joint between two leverarms 12, 13. The lever arm 12 is pivoted at M to a part of the frame, while the end of the other lever arm 13 is pivoted at 15 to a lug 15 on a shaft ll having secured thereto the aforesaid pusher 21. The shaft 11 is slidably mounted in a bearing 18. Thus, rotation of the cam 69 imparts the required motion to the pusher 21.

The shaping of the various cams is such as to move the various parts in the required sequence as set out earlier in specification.

As will be seen from Figure 3 the main driving shaft 36 is provided with a sprocket wheel 19 encircled by a chain which also encircles another sprocket wheel 8| mounted near the bottom of the apparatus, which sprocket has secured thereto a bevelled pinion which drives a bevel wheel 82 secured to a conveyor shaft 83 driving the conveyor 84, thus the whole mechanism is timed to operate at a speed determined by the speed of traverse of thecontainers into the apparatus.

In the case where the apparatus is employed for emptying containers 8%, inches high the cutter and suction conduit move down together and when the cutter is at the lowest point of its movement the lower end of the suction conduit is 1% inches above it, when the lower extremity of the conduit is 9 inches above the bottom of the container the valve of the compressed air motor is opened thereby opening the suction valve. The spray orifices are about 1 /2 inches from the ends of the suction conduits. The valve gear controlling the supply of liquid begins to open when the orifices are about 11 inches from the bottom of the container and is fully open When the end of the conduit is within inches of the bottom. The washing liquid valve is closed when the conduit commences to rise as is also the suction valve. It will be appreciated that the valves may be readily operated mechanically from the drive for the cutting device and conduit raising and lowering gear.

The apparatus is particularly suitable for emptying comparatively large containers of edible pulp, which pulp is required to be diluted with water either before being used as an ingredient in the manufacture of a mixture such as soup or sauce, or before being refilled into smaller containers for distribution to retailers. In such a case water is used as the washing liquid and is introduced at a rate no greater than that required for dilution.

I claim:

1. A sealed container emptying apparatus comprising a support for the container, an annular cutting blade, means for axially reciprocating said blade in an up and down direction relatively to the support sufiiciently to form an aperture in the top of the container, a suction conduit adapted to extend in an up and down direction loosely through said annular blade, a valve seat at the lower end of the suction con-duit, a valve associated with said seat, a valve operating rod extending up through said suction conduit, a compressed air motor mounted at the top of the suction conduit for operating said rod, means for reciprocating said suction conduit axially in timed relationship with said cutter blade so that it passes through the blade and aperture in the container after the cutting operation and timing mechanism for said compressed air motor so that it opens the valve of the suction conduit when it enters said container.

2. A sealed container emptying apparatus comprising a support for the container, an annular cutting blade, means for axially reciprocating said blade in an up and down direction relatively to the support sufficiently to form an aperture in the top of the container, a suction conduit adapted to extend in an up and down direction loosely through said annular blade, a valve seat at the lower end of the suction conduit, a valve associated with said seat, a valve operating rod extending up through said suction conduit, a compressed air motor mounted at the top of the suction conduit for operating said rod, a jacket wall surrounding and spaced away from said suction conduit and having spray orifices adjacent the valve seat on said conduit, valve controlled means for supplying washin liquid to the jacket space, means for reciprocating said suction conduit axially in timed relationship with said cutter blade so that it passes through said cutter blade and aperture in the container after the cutter operation, timing mechanism for said compressed air motor so that it opens the valve of the suction conduit when it enters said container and automatic means for opening the valve controlling the flow of washing liquid to the jacket space when the suction conduit enters the container.

3. A sealed container emptying apparatus comprising a support for the container, an annular cutting blade, a suction conduit adapted to extend loosely through said annular blade, a driving shaft, transmissions between the driving shaft and the annular cutting blade and the suction conduit, which transmissions embody cams set at appropriate angles so as to reciprocate the cutting blade andconduit that the cutting blade first forms an aperture in the container and the conduit then passes through the blade into the container, and a spray device on said suction conduit adapted to direct washing liquid on to the walls of the container.

4. A sealed container emptying apparatus comprising a support for the container, an annular cutting blade, a suction conduit, a jacket around said conduit and having spray orifices located adjacent the opening of the conduit, which suction conduit and jacket are adapted to extend loosely through said annular blade, a driving shaft, transmission between the driving shaft and the annular cutting blade and the jacketed suction conduit, which transmissions embody cams set at such angles so as to reciprocate the cutting blade and the conduit so that the cutting blade first forms an aperture in the container and the conduit then passes through the blade into the container, and means for supplying liquid to said jacket.

5. A sealed container emptying apparatus comprising a support for the container, an annular cutting blade, a suction conduit, a jacket around said conduit and having spray orifices located adjacent the opening of the conduit, which suction conduit and jacket are adapted to extend loosely through said annular blade, at driving shaft, a transmission between the driving shaft and annular cutting blade and the jacketed suction conduit, which transmissions are adapted to reciprocate the cutting blade and conduit so that the cutting blade first forms an aperture in the container and the conduit then passes through the blade into the container and remains below the free surface level of the material in the container until the container is nearly empty, and means for supplying washing liquid to said jacket.

6. A sealed container emptying apparatus comprising a support for the container, an annular cutting blade, a suction conduit adapted to extend loosely through said annular blade, a valve associated with the conduit for controlling the flow of contents from the container into said suction conduit, a driving shaft, transmissions between the driving shaft, the annular cutting blade, the suction conduit, and the valve, which transmissions embody cams set at such angles as to reciprocate the cutting blade and conduit parts so that the cutting blade first forms an aperture in the containe and the conduit then passes through the blade into the container, whereafter said valve is opened when the suction conduit enters the contents of the container.

RICHARD HENRY WILLIAM THORN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,159,000 Alling May 23, 1939 2,161,048 Horstman June 6, 1939 2,2403% Kimball et al. Apr. 29, 1941 2,257,725 Davis Oct. '7, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 535,172 Great Britain Apr. 1, 1941 

